My Guardian Devil
by Tunisa
Summary: Typical BR fluff story. A bit cliche, but with a nice twist. If you ask me, anyway. Shounenai, yaoi warning


Ha! Another cutesy wootsy Bakura/Ryou story! I'll just keep dishing them out! (like there aren't enough already? Of course not!) Ryou's POV.

(Begin)

Bakura is a devil.

This is one of the many thoughts in my mind as I back into the corner and said devil lashes out at me, landing a smart slap across my cheek. "Why are you so pathetic?"

His fist rams into my stomach and the air rushes out of me, but it's not too bad. He's hit me much harder than this before.

It's my fault this is happening anyway...if those bullies hadn't attacked me, if I hadn't been so weak, if I hadn't come home and started crying...then Bakura wouldn't be so angry at me now.

The gang jumped me on my way home from school. There was only about 4 or 5 of them, but the insults they rained on me hurt more than the punches.

I'm brought back to the present as Bakura roughly shakes my shoulders. "You're useless, you know that? Completely useless!"

Whenhe lets go of me, I slump to the floor. He draws his foot back as if to kick me. With a sigh, I whisper defeatedly, "If I'm so useless, maybe I should just kill myself."

At this, he pauses, a look of mild surprise replacing the anger on his face. After taking a few steps backward, he says quietly, "Don't," and disappears into the Ring, leaving me rather surprised myself.

Bakura..._doesn't_...want me to kill myself? I thought he hated me. Does this mean he could actually care about me? ...Oh, what am I thinking? The only reason he wants me alive is because if I die, he's stuck back in the Millennium Ring. I pull my knees to me chest and sigh.

Suicide hasn't been an unfamiliar thought over the past few months, but it was only recently that I'd seriously considered it. I mean, why shouldn't I? It's not like any one would even notice that I was gone. Father's gone so much, he wouldn't miss me. I never see Mother and rarely talk to Amane. I have no real friends. And the only thing Bakura cares about is not being trapped in the Ring.

My eyes begin to tear and I close them against the growing darkness of the room as day fades to night, hoping against hope that my tears don't call out Bakura again. Maybe tomorrow I'll just get it over with, but I feel so tired right now, I just want to sleep, one last night.

Huddling in the corner, I lean against the wall and fall into a restless sleep.

(The Next Day...)

As I wake up, I glance at the clock. 10 o'clock. And today is a school day. Oh, well. Is there a point in going to school if you're going to kill yourself?

I start to cry again, soft, slow tears. Why can't Bakura care about me? If he cared, I wouldn't need anyone else. But it's my own fault I'm so depressed. Stupid me, falling in love with someone who will never return my affections, with a devil who hurts me so badly. I can't help myself though. There's just something about him...

As my crying gains momentum, I cough. Maybe if I sit here crying long enough, I'll choke to death on my tears. Ha, not with my luck.

With an agonizing stretch from sleeping in such an uncomfortable position, I pull myself up the wall and stumble with tear-clouded vision into the kitchen. My hand pauses on the drawer where the silverware is. After a moment's hesitation, I open the drawer and take out the sharpest knife. Running my finger along the blade shows how sharp it is by making a clean, effortless cut. I wince and bring the bleeding finger to my mouth. The coppery taste of blood fills my mouth, and I feel something coming to alertness in the back of my mind.

As I think that maybe I should overdose on something instead (it's easy to swallow pills), a strong hand pulls the knife away from me and I find myself looking into a pair of copper eyes, the eyes of a devil, Bakura's eyes. But instead of anger, they're filled with fear. His hands grip my shoulders, shaking slightly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Why does he look so terrified? Is he really _afraid_ to go back into the Ring? I think sardonically that maybe he's claustrophobic.

Of course, the terror in my eyes outmatches that in his. Surely, he'll be enraged by my defiance. I try to back away from him, but I'm already pressed against the counter. He demands a bit more calmly, "What are you doing?"

Something in Bakura's eyes is making me feel guilty and I steal my eyes from his grasp by looking to the floor.

"I told you last night not to kill yourself," there's a growl of anger in his voice and I close my eyes, waiting for the blow to fall, but when it doesn't, I ask, "Why shouldn't I?"

I look back up at him to see that his look has changed from fear to another unfamiliar emotion, perhaps sorrow? "Because, Ryou... I need you."

"You only need me for your own selfish reasons." I close my eyes again, positive that I'll be hit this time.

But all he does is admit softly, "You're right." Suddenly his lips are on mine as his tongue slips into my mouth. While his arms slid around me, as gently as he's ever touched me, I cling to him, my heart pumping a mile a minute. His kiss is needy, hungry, desperate, like he's wanted to do this for a very long time.

After a minute, he pulls back a bit and whisper softly, "But love usually is selfish, isn't it?"

"L-love?" My eyes search his for some kind of deceit, but I don't see anything except a bit of hopefulness.

He nods and gives me a tight hug. "I don't expect you to feel the same. How could an angel like you love a devil like me? But I wanted you to know that someone cared about you...before you did something you couldn't take back." With a squeeze, he continues, "I'm sorry. I was trying to make you stronger, the way I was taught when I was young, but all that I've done is hurt you worse than I could imagine." His shoulders slumped, the arms around me went lax as if he were expecting me to pull away. "You probably hate me."

"No!" I shout, burying my tearing eyes against his shoulder. "That's not true!"

The shock in his voice is clear, "It isn't?"

"No, it's not. Bakura, I—I love you." The tears are prickling at my eyes again, but my crying now is from happiness. This is just too good to be true!

"You do? Really?"

Words are beyond me, so I nod my head happily.

With that he scoops me up in his arms and kisses me again, just as needy as before.

That night as we lay close in bed, Bakura promised me with a smirk that if anyone ever tried to hurt me again, he would beat them to a fine pulp with his own two hands and call on some devious duel monster to feast on their innards, before sending what was left to the Shadow Realm.

I was right; Bakura is a devil. But at least now he's on my side.

(See, there's the two genres I'm good at: humor.. and fluff! Please review!)


End file.
